Whodunnit?
by Dragon-Rider12
Summary: When everyone is called to Ridgedog's manor to discuss Rythian and Lalna's constant feuding, things turn dark when Ridgedog is murdered right at the dinner table! Now trapped within a gigantic mansion in the middle of the night, the rest of the Yogscast must solve the case before the murderer strikes again! Expect hijinxs and hilarity to ensue. Rated T for obvious reasons.
1. Chapter 1: The Murder

"I can't believe we're being forced to attend this..."

Rythian huffed as he slouched in his seat, listening to the hoofbeats of the horses that drew the carriage along the road. Ridgedog was having another one of his parties again, but for once, it was manditory attendance. What made this one so special, the mage had no idea. He was snapped from his thoughts when he heard Zoey next to him.

"Oh relax, Rythian! I'm sure we'll have fun. It's just a few hours out of your life, how bad could it be?" Said the bubbly readhead next to him. As she turned to stare back out the window, she gave a thoughtful hum and began to tap the side of her head. "I wonder why Ridge only sent two invitations? I'm sure Teep would've like to come. The Jailhouse Six could've held a gig, too! Wouldn't that've been awesome, Rythian?"

By now, Zoey had moved back away from the window and closer to Rythian, the redhead wearing her usual elated smile as she bounced up and down on the padded seat cushion. Rythian looked over to his companion and smiled.

"I'm sure it would've." He assured her. Zoey just beamed again and scooted herself back over to her side window, staring out at the passing scenery as the sun set far off in the distance. The carriage grew silent again, the only sounds the horses' hooves and the wheels crackling over the uneven terrain. After a few more minutes, the mage heard Zoey gasp as she stuck her head out the window, her long red ponytail now swaying with the breeze.

"There it is!" She shouted, pointing up ahead. Rythian raised a brow at her before sticking his head out his own side window. Just up a tall, winding hill sat a large mansion, the path under their carriage now becoming neatly pathed as a row of hedges began to guide them up the serpentine slope. The five-story manor was brightly lit up, marble pillars supporting the red tiled roof over the front porch. The rest of the exterior was painted stark white.

"Ridge sure lives a life of luxury, doesn't he?" Rythian commented, slipping back into his seat in the carriage. The two waited as the horses pulled them up the long road to Ridgedog's mansion, a few more of the other party guests' carriages just in front of them. Once they reached the top of the hill, Rythian could see that the asphalt changed into brick as they reached the top of the hill.

Since their carriage was at the back of the line, Rythian decided to entertain himself by watching the other guests step out of their own rides to pass the time. First out was Xephos and Honeydew, both dressed up in black tuxedos. While Honeydew didn't seem too happy to wear such tight-fitting party clothes, let alone a shirt in general, Xephos seemed content with his outfit as he adjusted a blue rose that served as his corset.

Next was Nilesy and Lomadia. Nilesy wore a simple smokey-grey tuxedo and a messily-tied tie while Lomadia seemed to have gone all out with her outfit. She wore a slimming midnight blue gown that almost dragged along the ground and a black pair of gloves that went up to her elbows. She also had two-inch ebony heels, and her golden locks had been curled slightly for the occasion. She met up with Xephos, where the spaceman bowed politely and offered her his hand before they headed up the marble stairs. Nilesy and Honeydew seemed to share a look before following their friends up to where Ridgedog was waiting by the door to greet them. The overseer was in his usual frilly outfit; long blue overcoat, a dress shirt, and brown dress pants along with matching boots.

Next up was Sips, Sjin, and Minty. Neither man seemed to make much of an effort to dress up, for their tuxes looked old and wrinkled. Hell, Sips' sleeves were torn off up to his elbows for Notch's sake! Granted, Rythian hadn't made much of an effort to dress up either. While Zoey had insisted on him wearing a tuxedo like the others, he argued that his current outfit was classy enough as long as he washed it. Both men were laughing as they sauntered up the stairs. It appeared the were drunk before they even arrived at the party. Minty wore a nicer version of her regular flowery brown dress, looking to be in a mix of embarassment and amusement at her two friends' behavior.

Following the two dirt traders and the barkeep were Martyn and Toby. Both wore black tuxes, the only difference between the two outfits being that Martyn wore a green tie while Toby sported a blue bowtie. Both men quickly headed up into the manor as Ravs stepped out his own carriage. The Scotsman was wearing his mayor's uniform, having recently been appointed the new mayor of Sickbay, and followed Martyn and Toby up the stairs with an excited grin.

It was then that Rythian and Zoey's carriage pulled up to the front of the manor. The driver stepped down from his seat and opened the door for the two, and Rythian climbed out before helping Zoey down. He took a moment to examine her outfit again. Unlike what he had expected, Zoey decided to wear a grey tuxedo with a red bowtie to the party, her tux jacket a little longer than usual so it could, as Zoey had explained, "flap awesomely in the wind." When he questioned why she opted for the tux and not the dress, she simply replied that she wanted to surprise everyone, not to mention feel super badass in it. At first Rythian was confused, but hey, this was Zoey he was talking about, so he just went along with it. Plus, despite her outward opinion on the subject, he suspected she still might be a little self-concious about her new robotic arm when it came to everyone else. A tuxedo sleeve was the perfect cover for it.

After helping Zoey down, the two walked up side-by-side over to Ridgedog, whom was waiting with one of his signature smiles. He shook each of their hands as he greeted them.

"Ah, Mister Rythian and Miss Zoeya! I'm glad you could both make it." He said. Rythian chose not to bring up the fact that Ridge's invitation practically forced them to attend due to this party being "of upmost importance". "Come, take a seat. The dining hall is just across the foyer and to the left."

Both Rythian and Zoey nodded and were about to step inside when the three heard a strange noise up above their heads. Rythian looked over to see some odd...flying...thing, draw close to the manor before landing in an open spot on the lawn next to Ridge's front porch. The mage's eyes narrowed when he saw the machine's tinted glass top roll back and the familiar face of the driver as he climbed out of his strange contraption. Lalna had smug air to him as he raised his gloved hand to press a button on a remote control, and the machine's headlights flashed as it made a two-tone beeping noise. The scientist then approached the three after tucking the remote away into his coat pocket, hands now calmly resting beind his back.

"There you are, Lalna! I was beginning to worry something happened to you." Ridge greeted as he shook the scientist's hand. Lalna gave a small chuckle.

"No need to worry about me, Ridge. The carriage was late so I decided to take my own ride here."

"Well, my apologies for the inconvenience." Ridgedog replied, his toothy smile never once fading. Lalna then turned to the other two party guests and bowed politely.

"Rythian, Zoey. Nice to see you." He said, standing straight again. His tone was a little curt, however, especially when he uttered Rythian's name. Rythian bowed as well while Zoey curtsied.

"Lalna." Rythian adressed, a similar harshness on his own voice as he spoke. The mage looked down to see what Lalna was wearing.

"I see you haven't bothered to dress up tonight." He spat. Indeed, Lalna was wearing his regular lab coat, boots, and rubber gloves. At least this lab coat wasn't stained with blood and chemicals. Lalna seemed amused by Rythian's disapproving tone.

"Why so upset, Ryth? I see you haven't bothered to do so as well." He replied, mockingly leaning closer to the mage's face as he pointed down to Rythian's clothing. "Well, I guess it _is _better than that black heap of rags you were wearing before, now is it?"

"Why you little-"

"Gentlemen, gentlemen! No need to be so hostile." Ridge quickly stepped in between the two and pushed them apart. "We're all friends for tonight. Now, let's just head inside and get this whole party started, shall we?"

Rythian and Lalna shared a brief glare before they, Zoey, and Ridgedog headed inside, Ridge closing the doors behind the group before catching up to them. Upon entering the dining hall, most guests had already taken to their seats and were chatting amongst themselves at the table. A few others, like Honeydew, Sips, and Ravs, were up and about enjoying a glass of wine near the small fountain spewing alcohol instead of water. Rythian and Zoey found their seats near the middle of the table and sat down, Rythian keeping to himself while Zoey excitedly waved to everyone they passed. The mage looked across the table and saw Lalna find his seat directly across from him. He mentally huffed. This night was just getting better and better.

Ridgedog strode over to his seat at the end of the long table and stood in front of it, the large thing looking more like a throne than a dining chair. He raised a glass and tapped it with his spoon, causing the room to grow quiet and face him.

"Welcome everyone, one and all! Before we continue, I'd like everyone to return to their seats, please." He paused and waited for everyone to do so. "Excellent! Now first thing's first; I'd like to make an annoucement. We have a newcomer in town, everyone!"

A few side-conversations began as the door to the kitchen swung open, and a short little Asian girl stepped into view. She was a tiny little thing, not only in height but in build, and golden-brown eyes shined as bright as her smile. She was wearing a flowery red dress that almost resembled a kimono, and her long black hair was tied loosely into a ponytail with a golden scrunchie. She walked over to Ridgedog and politely curtsied to the party guests.

"Hello everyone!" She greeted, not seeming to be shy at all. Ridge turned to the rest of the group.

"This here is Nano, or Kim as she likes to be called. I'm sure a few of you have met her already, but tonight she'll be helping me serve you all. Be sure to treat her kindly."

Kim gave the group another polite wave before rushing back to the kitchen, closing the door behind her. Ridge then sat down in his seat.

"While we wait on the food, I'm sure most of you are aware of why I've summoned you all here tonight..." The overseer shot a look to the center of the table as everyone but Lalna, Rythian and Zoey nodded. All three looked confused.

"Rythian, Lalna, consider this an intervention." Xephos spoke now, sitting close to Ridgedog's end of the table. "Your constant fighting is beginning to be a problem for the rest of us. It has to stop!" Honeydew suddenly shot up from his seat and glared at the two in question.

"YOU KILLED PORKINS IN THE CROSSFIRE, YOU SHITLORDS!" He yelled. Notch knew Honeydew loved his animals. He plopped back down in his seat and looked as if he was about to burst into tears as Xephos began to pat him on the shoulder confortingly.

"Oh, this is just rediculous..." Rythian heard Lalna mumble as the scientist slouched in his seat and gripped the bridge of his nose. For once the mage agreed with him.

"Hey, why are you all looking at me like that? Lalna's the one who usually starts it!" Rythian defended himself. Lalna just scoffed at him.

"Note the word _usually." _The scientist shot back. Rythian shot him another glare.

"You _blew up my castle _and nearly _killed _Zoey!"

"Well it wasn't _my_ fault the nuke was set off, now was it, genius! In fact, why isn't Sjin part of this intervention? He was the one at the start of this whole thing!"

Sjin simply threw up his hands in a form of defense.

"Don't look at me! I'm just running a farm now!"

"Yeah! Leave Sjin alone, you big babbies! He gave up the whole psycho tyrant act a long time ago!" Sips added. More quietly, he added to Sjin in a whisper. "For the record, I have no idea what you're up to. I just wanted to call everyone a big babby."

"Gentlemen, please! Control yourselves!" Ridge yelled from the end of the table. "Now I think I have just the proposal to settle this little disagreement. The whole solution to this mess is-"

Before Ridgedog could finish his sentance, there was a loud _pop! _before the room grew pitch black. A few of the guests gave a cry of surprise, and Rythian heard footsteps and the sound of a wine glass breaking nearby. He felt Zoey grab onto him in the darkness, no doubt as startled as the rest of the guests. Just as quickly as they had gone out, the lights in the room flickered back to life. Everyone looked around in confusion.

"Something must have blew a fuse." Martyn theorized. Suddenly, everyone turned when they heard Minty give a bloodcurtling scream. The blonde had a hand over her mouth as she pointed across to Ridgedog at the end of the table.

The poor man was slumped over on the dining room table with a knife in his back.


	2. Chapter 2: Accusations

"Holy shit! Ridge!" Lalna flew from his seat and over to the fallen overseer along with Xephos and Rythian. The others began doing what most people in this situation would do; panic.

While Sjin, Zoey, and Lomadia were trying to calm down Minty, Ravs had curled up into a ball and was crying for his mother hysterically due to being slightly drunk at the moment. Sips was already pointing fingers at everyone he could think of a legitimate motive for, and even then, they weren't very believeable. Honeydew and Nilesy were running around screaming as well before Honeydew tripped over Ravs and ended up slamming face first into the floor, and Martyn and Toby were busy arguing with Sips when the dirt trader dared to accuse them of stabbing Ridge when they were nowhere near his end of the table. Amongst all this, Kim had finally finished preparing dinner and walked out with two large platters balanced in her arms.

"Dinner's ready!" She cried merrily. Once noticing the chaos in the room and Ridgedog's limp body, she screamed a dropped both platters as her hands shot up to her mouth. "What the hell?!"

"There's no pulse." Lalna muttered as he pulled his hand away from Ridge's neck. He looked up at the other two next to him with a grim expression. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ridgedog is dead."

"Dead?! He can't be dead! This is _Ridge _we're talking about!" Rythian replied.

"Do you want to check for yourself? There's no pulse! He has to be dead!"

"Perhaps if we all just calm down and think this through we'll be able to figure out what's going on." Xephos interjected. Lalna gave him a look and jerked a thumb over to the rest of the crowd.

"Good luck getting them in order." The scientist muttered again. Xephos quickly scanned the rest of the panicking party quests and just sighed before Lalna watched him walk over to where Kim was standing. The girl was still watching the chaos with a very confused look on her face.

"Excuse me, miss." He heard Xephos say as he bent down to pick up one of the expensive silver platters Kim had dropped a few seconds ago. Kim simply shuffled out of the way, avoiding any spilled gravy or toppled bowls of vegetables as she did. Xephos then walked back over to the table with the platter casually placed under his arm. Lalna and Rythian shared a confused glance before they watched the spaceman climb up onto the table, grabbing a decent-sized spoon in the process. Xephos then cleared his throat and pulled the platter out from underneath his arm before he started obnoxiously banging on it with the spoon, causing everyone to jump and turn to look at him.

"Everyone _shut up_!" He yelled, his tone _very _far from pleased. Lalna felt himself flinch at the spaceman's words, and the scientist noticed that most others in the room reacted in a similar way. Though he seemed to be passive in most situations, Xephos was a born leader, and Lalna often forgot that.

Xephos scanned the silent room one more time before he tucked the platter under his arm again, looking satisfied.

"Much better. Now, I know we're all scared here, but if we just calm down and think this through, I'm sure we can figure out what happened." He began. Xephos then stepped off the table and placed both the platter and spoon down, letting his hands rest behind his back calmly as he continued. "First thing's first. Kim, is there anyone else in the manor besides us tonight?"

Everyone turned to watch the little Asian shake her head after a moment of consideration.

"I-I'm pretty sure he gave everyone the night off. He said something along the lines of, 'It doesn't take much effort to throw a dinner party when you're _me_, Kim!'" She replied, deepening her voice to sound more like the overseer when she began to quote him. Xephos gave her a thankful nod before turning to the others again.

"Well, I guess that settles it then. We have a murderer in our midst." Both the spaceman's expression and tone of voice were grim as he spoke, and lightning flashed by the window before it was followed by a loud thunderclap. It appeared a storm had suddenly started outside, as if the spirit of the fallen overseer was not happy with them. A few members of the crowd gave each other a variety of looks, ranging from worried to accusing to defensive.

"Secondly, I think we all heard those footsteps and that glass break when the lights went out. Anyone have an explanation for either?"

More silence swept over the room like a veil, remaining that way before someone finally spoke up after clearing their throat. It was Toby.

"The glass was me, sorry. When the lights went out, I jumped and accidentally knocked it off the table."

"Understandable. Now what about the footsteps?" Xephos asked. There was another silence as everyone looked at each other, excepting someone else to give the answer. When no one did after a good thirty seconds, Xephos spoke up again. "Anyone?"

"It's obvious whoever the footsteps belonged to is the killer, so of course no one would take the fall for it." Martyn spoke up. "I mean, it would be a dead giveaway. No pun intended."

"I bet _you _did it!" Sips shouted suddenly, jabbing a finger in Xephos' direction. This resulted in annoyed moans by Martyn and Toby as Sjin awkwardly tried to get his best friend to stop ("Sips, that's the alcohol talking, shut up a bit..."). Meanwhile, Xephos looked mildly offended.

"_Me_? Why the hell would I kill him?!"

"Well, you _were_ the one sitting right next to him! Not to mention with Ridge gone, you'd be next in line to be head honcho 'round here!" Sips spat back. This caused a few more looks and thoughtful nods in the crowd around him, although no one directly stepped up to defend Sips' claim, before Honeydew stood to defend his friend.

"And who are you to accuse people? Last time I checked, you and Sjin owed Ridge a pretty penny after he helped you out after the Voltz Project disaster! Perhaps you two wanted out of the debt!"

Both Honeydew and Sips began arguing as Xephos rushed over to try and pull them apart. Lalna mentally sighed. It was stupid how people could turn on a dime once things fell to a new low. He watched Sjin run over to help Xephos restrain their two friends respectively, for it looked as though it was about to escalate into a full-on brawl. Growing bored from watching the pointless struggle, Lalna let his eyes fall to the knife still embedded in Ridge's back. A lot of blood had already poured from the wound, staining the overseer's elegant coat along most of the back. Looking at the knife itself, it appeared to be a very simple thing. It looked similar to a butterfly knife if it was stuck in the open position and couldn't be folded back. Just then, Lalna had a stroke of genius.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" He shouted, causing Honeydew and Sips, along with everyone else, to turn to face him. He dislodged the knife from Ridgedog's back and held it up with his gloved hand. "I have a prototype fingerprint scanner in my hovercraft just outside. I was planning to tinker with it after the party. Whoever's fingerprints show up killed him, and if none show up, that limits it to those wearing gloves."

"That's a brilliant idea!" Lomadia shouted, although there was slight hesitation in her voice. It was mostly like caused by the fact that if no fingerprints showed up, she'd be a prime suspect. Lalna took a brief moment to bathe in his ego before he pulled out the remote control from before and tossed it over to Nilesy, who fumbled a bit before sucessfully wrapping his hands around it.

"Back seat in the briefcase. Go get it, please." Lalna ordered. Nilesy looked as though he was about to protest before his shoulders slumped slightly as he sighed, defeatedly heading out of the dining hall and back into the foyer. A few side-conversations started up as Sips and Honeydew shared one final glare and walked away from each other, silently agreeing to stop the madness there. Lalna smirked again and mouthed "Science one, Magic zero." to Rythian, who was still standing beside him. The mage just rolled his eyes and pushed past him, heading back over to where Zoey was. The redhead bounded up to him and started babbling excitedly, her smile never seeming to fade despite any situation the world decided to throw at her. Lalna smiled slightly. He needed to apologize to her for unitentionally and second-handedly blowing off her arm. Maybe some chocolates or something...

Just then Nilesy entered room again, looking a little sheepish at the fact that he had returned empty-handed. Lalna and the crowd turned to face him.

"Where is it?" The scientist asked. The Scotsman nervously pulled at his collar.

"Well, um, turns out the door and windows are locked up tight. Couldn't budge 'em at all. At least in the foyer, that is."

"Maybe Ridge has the key on him still?" Minty spoke up. Lalna turned and started digging through the dead man's pockets only to find that nothing was hidden within them.

"Shit."

"I'm guessing that's a no, then?" Nilesy spoke again.

"Yes."

"So he does have the key?"

"No."

"But you said yes?"

"I meant yes to the no!"

"So he does _not _have the key?"

"Yes!"

"But you just said-"

"Alright, that's enough you two." Lomadia snapped, elbowing Nilesy in the side to get him to stop. "The point is, there's a killer on the loose and we're all locked in here with him. Any ideas on what to do now?"

"I say we split up and investigate. Ridge's mansion is huge! He's bound to have another exit unlocked around here somewhere." Xephos spoke up again. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Since there's fourteen of us, there will be four teams of three and one team of two. Safety in numbers, after all. _Don't leave your group at any cost, _is that clear? I don't want someone else to lose their life tonight. Now, on to the teams."

Lalna watched as Xephos took a moment to contemplate the pairings with a hum of thought, scanning the crowd again. After a moment or two, he spoke up again.

"Lomadia, take Nilesy and Ravs to investigate the first floor. Sjin, Sips, Minty, take the second. Martyn and Toby can investigate the third along with Kim, and Rythian can take Lalna and Zoey up to the fourth floor and attic."

"Hey, why do I have to be with him?" Rythian protested, pointing over to Lalna with distaste. The scientist just rolled his eyes. He didn't want to be in this pair either, but at least he didn't outwardly complain about it.

"We called this dinner so you two could make up. I suggest you try and do that even _with _the situation at hand." Xephos argued, giving Rythian a slight glare before turning towards the others again. "That leaves Honeydew and I as the team of two. We'll tackle the basement. We'll all meet back in the foyer in an hour to discuss what we've found-"

"If all of us are still alive by then... Ow!" Ravs rubbed his side when Toby gave him a sharp jab to the side for his comment. Xephos gave the former barkeep another look before continuing.

"Like I said, meet in the foyer in an hour. Good luck to you all." With that, the spaceman turned and walked over to Honeydew as the others began to form into their groups and split up to explore the rest of Ridgedog's gigantic palace. Rythian, Zoey and Lalna turned to face each other, the two men of the group sharing another hard glare before Zoey spoke up.

"What're we waiting around for? We have a murder to solve! Let's get our super sluth hats on and take a good look around the fourth floor!" The excitable redhead grabbed both their arms and dragged them out of the dining hall and towards the stairs. As they were forced along, Lalna and Rythian shared another look, but it wasn't a glare or a look of hatred like before. It was just a simple glance to show they were thinking the same thing. Tonight was going to be a very, _very _long night.


	3. Chapter 3: The Second Murder

After a quick climb up the stairs to the fourth floor, Rythian, Lalna and Zoey found themselves in a dimly-lit hall. Most of the light in the hall came from the glow of many small chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, spaced equidistance from each other as the corridor continued to stretch downward further and further. Though there were many windows lining the exterior wall, the storm outside prevented any moonlight from streaming in. The only thing visible through the faded old glass was the raindrops as they splashed against the pane, making a soft puttering sound echo around the near-silent corridor.

"Oooh, this is so spooky!" Zoey commented, but her tone and the fact she was bubbling over with excitement again showed that she didn't see this as a bad thing. She turned back to her two teammates with another large grin. "Perhaps we'll meet a friendly ghost up here, like Casper!"

"Zoey." Rythian gave the redhead a subtle look to show her this was not the time to talk of such things. She stared at him for a moment before she gave a curt nod, understanding and calming down. Rythian smiled a bit under his cowl as he watched Lalna move to inspect the closest window.

"Hmm. Despite the apparent age, the iron welding on these things is still pretty sturdy. No chance of getting through without breaking glass and hurting yourself." He commented.

"Besides, if we got one open, it's a three story drop down in Ridge's backyard." Rythian added. "And knowing Ridge, he's probably keeping Creeper Dogs down there or something." He saw Lalna give him a nod of acknowledgement as he moved away from the large dome-shaped window.

"That just means there's more time for exploring! This way first guys!" With another one of her smiles, Zoey scampered off down the hall leading to their left. Rythian called to tell her to slow down before he and the scientist managed to catch up to her.

The trio continued in silence for a bit as they checked any door they came across. Sadly, all were locked with no sign of the key anywhere. The only sounds greeting their ears were the rain, the creaking of the floorboards below them, and the occasional boom of thunder accompanied by a lightning flash. One such boom of thunder was louder than the rest, which caused Zoey to jump and instinctively leap into the arms of the closest person to her. Unfortunately for Rythian, that person was Lalna.

"Careful now." The scientist gave a chuckle as he let an embarrassed Zoey down. "I can't be here to save you every time."

"Hey, knock it off!" Rythian instantly snapped. "She doesn't need to be saved by the likes of you."

"Guys, really, it's no big deal." Zoey tried, but her words fell on deaf ears. Rythian and Lalna were already locked in another staredown.

"Say that again." Lalna spat, taking a step closer to the mage. Rythian continued to glare back as he held his ground. He knew he had hit one of Lalna's trigger buttons; his pride.

"I said," He leaned closer to look the blond scientist dead in the eyes. "She doesn't need to be saved by the likes of _you."_

"Um, guys? I think I can speak for myself here-" Zoey tried to interject again, but like before, it failed.

"Oh, and what makes you so much better? Just because you can shoot fireballs out of your hands you're instantly miss Zoeya's savior?"

"I don't really need to be saved most of the time, you know."

"Why, do you want one sent flying into your mouth? Because believe me, I can make it happen." Rythian raised a fist up close to Lalna's jaw in a threatening manner.

"Welp, I'm useless here. Best go do something productive."

As Zoey turned to continue down the hall, Lalna's glare towards Rythian only intensified.

"Why you little, shit-faced, SON OF A BI-"

"Hey guys, I found something!"

Zoey finally managed to catch the two's attention as they turned to see her some ways down the hall. She now stood in front of an open door; the first they had come across up here. Rythian and Lalna looked at her, then back at each other, then back at Zoey. There was another brief glare shared between the two as they headed over to Zoey's position. The room Zoey had found was almost pitch black, save for the first few steps into the room being lit by the hall's chandeliers. The three stood there in silence once more, staring into the void of black until Lalna spoke up.

"Well... you go first, Rythian."

"What!? Why me?" The mage turned to give the scientist a confused look. "No way in the Nether am I going first! There could be the murderer in there!"

"Pssh, please. Everyone is investigating their own floors below us. They couldn't have possibly gotten in there without passing us first."

"Then if no one's in there, why do you want me to go first?"

"...That is an excellent question that I don't have a believable answer to."

"If you two are just going to stand here and talk about it all day, then I'll go first." Zoey spoke up. Rythian turned to face her again, and he recognized genuine annoyance on her features. Before he could say anything, the redhead turned and stepped into the darkness. A few seconds later, the two waiting in the hall heard her disembodied voice from inside.

"All clear! Well, I think it is, anyway. It's still _really_ dark in here."

Rythian and Lalna absently shared another look before they walked in together. Soon enough, the trio found themselves stumbling around in the dark. It didn't appear that Ridgedog had routed electricity into this room, for Rythian couldn't find a lightswitch anywhere. He occasionally bumped into Zoey a few times as they both tried to feel around the room. The mage also occasionally bumped into a few things that he could not place a name to.

"Hey guys, I think I found a candlestick!" Rythian eventually heard Lalna say to the right of him, perhaps on the opposite side of the room.

"Any matches?" Zoey asked. Rythian heard a pair of gloved hands feel around on what sounded like a desk.

"No, not really- Aha! Found one!"

There was a brief scratching noise before the room was instantly illuminated by an orange glow. Lalna became visible, and he lit the candlestick in his right hand before blowing out the match in his left, the small thing already charred black. He tossed the used match aside as Zoey and Rythian moved closer to him for better light. Lalna looked as if he was about to speak, but Rythian quickly turned when he noticed a few shadows besides their own dancing along the walls. Lalna and Zoey must've noticed them too, for seconds later they all huddled together and each gave yells of surprise. Even with Zoey in the room, Lalna's was unfortunately the girliest. Rythian was the first to calm down when he realized that the shadows were just cast by a few taxidermy trophies. This must be Ridgedog's old trophy room, and his collection included a skeletal archer, the head of a wild boar, and a stuffed creeper. That certainly explained what Rythian had bumped into before.

"Holy crap...that one got me good." Lalna panted. The three separated from their little huddle of fear before Rythian spoke up again.

"Okay, we're all just a little jumpy tonight after what happened with Ridge. Justifiably so. We just need to calm down and finish what we're supposed to do up here."

"Ryth's right. Let's finish up here and get to the attic already." Zoey added. Her excitement for mystery solving seemed to have faded a while ago. The three soon left the trophy room after finding nothing and continued their search of the fourth floor. Most doors were still locked, but there were a few that remained open. However, they were just guest bedrooms with more sealed windows too tiny to crawl out of. Eventually, the three circled around back to the stairs that brought them up here before they headed up to the attic. The door leading up to it was perched at the very top of the next flight of steps.

Rythian, taking the lead now, opened the door to find many cobwebs, old boxes, and blankets scattered about the small room. Most of the junk hugged the wall, though, so besides a few old roof supports, it was fairly open in the center of the rectangular space. With Lalna's candle lighting the way, the three split to examine each nook and cranny of the place. No one found anything particularly interesting at first. Zoey found herself digging through a box of old blankets and bed sheets, Rythian was busy busting through a large clump of cobwebs to get to one corner of the room, and Lalna spent most of his time examining a large portrait of Ridge that was leaning up against the wall. The overseer looked as smug and confident as ever. Once Rythian had cleared the cobwebs away, he managed to make out an old wardrobe sitting up against the wall.

"Hey guys, check this out."

Zoey and Lalna turned and walked closer to the mage as Rythian managed to force the doors open, the hinges having rusted from lack of use. It was hard to tell even with the candlelight, but it appeared that there was no back to the wardrobe at all. Rythian stuck a arm inside to test his theory. He was right; there was no back, and he wasn't sure it had much of a floor to it, either. It appeared to him as if this wardrobe led into the void itself.

"What the hell?"

"What? Let me see!" Zoey tried to peer over Rythian's shoulder to get a better look as Lalna set his candle down on the nearest box. Curious himself, the scientist also tried to take a look at this mysterious wardrobe, but unfortunately, he tripped. Before he could catch himself, he collided with Zoey and Rythian's backs, sending them all tumbling down a mysterious chute before Rythian felt Zoey land on top of him a few moments later. The mage groaned and tried to shield his eyes from a sudden bright light. Where the heck were they?

"I heard it over here!" He heard a familiar voice call. The mage looked up to see Lomadia, Ravs, and Nilesy running towards them. They helped the three all get to their feet and brush themselves off.

"We heard a crash, but we didn't expect to find you three here. How the heck did you guys get to the first floor?" Lomadia asked. Rythian opened his mouth to answer, but Lalna beat him to the punch.

"Well, we uh...fell."

"Fell? What in the world d'ya mean by that?" Nilesy fixed his glasses upon his face as he spoke. The Scotsman looked uneasy, but who could really blame him in a situation such as this?

"Well, long story short, we found a secret passage that drops you here from the attic." Rythian replied. He gave a quick look around the immediate area and noticed an odd looking panel in the ceiling directly above them. He pointed a finger up to it. "That's where we fell from. Why Ridge had such a thing installed, I have no idea."

"Good news is, there's nothing too spooky or murder-y up where we were." Zoey smiled and jokingly tried to look suave as she leaned up against the wall next to what looked like a closet. "Now we wait for the others to meet us down here and report what they found. Maybe they've already caught the murderer, too! Everything will be just fine."

Just then, the closet Zoey was leaning next to suddenly swung open, and a large shape fell forward and hit the ground with a loud thump. Everyone jumped back in surprise before Lomadia screamed at the realization of what - or _who _- it was.

Before them lay Xephos, his bright blue eyes now clouded and distant as blood clotted around a wound on the back of his head.


	4. Chapter 4: A Motive?

"Xeph!" Lalna quickly crouched down beside the spaceman as the others took a step back in shock. All except for Lomadia, however, who looked to be in near tears as she knelt down opposite of the scientist. Lalna didn't even have to check for a pulse. It was obvious that the man had been dead for quite a while now, apparently killed instantly by whatever struck him in the back of the head. He looked over to Lomadia with a somber expression.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to her before standing up. The owl keeper dried a wave of tears before she gave a small nod to show him she had heard. Nilesy and Ravs bent down to comfort her, but Lomadia ignored them for the most part as she cradled Xephos' limp form in her arms. Lalna looked over to see Rythian wrap an arm around Zoey and pull her close, both of their eyes filled with great sadness. Lalna was willing to take a guess that at least one of them was thinking about what would've happened if the current situation occurred between them instead.

The overall quiet display was suddenly shattered, however, when a series of hurried footsteps came down the hall and around the corner.

"Guys, we heard Lomadia scream. Is everything- Oh my shit." Sips slid to a stop, allowing Sjin and Minty to nearly crash into him from behind. His panicked demeanor quickly changed to one of confusion. "What the hell happened here? How did you guys get down here before we did?"

"Kind of a long story..." Zoey mumbled, her face still partly buried in Rythian's side.

"We found Xeph's body crammed in the closet." Ravs said as he stood up, straightening his kilt as he did. "An' like before, we have no idea who could've done it."

"Well, isn't it kind of obvious?" Sjin spoke suddenly, causing most of the crowd to turn towards him. "Honeydew was the only one with near Xeph after we split. He must have done it!"

"Sjin you big dumb-dumb! Why would Honeydew kill his best friend? It would be like if I killed you, and I'd never kill you."

"Aww, thanks Sips. It means a lot, pal."

"That's enough of the bromance, you two." Lalna suddenly stepped up to speak, causing the people in the hall to turn to him again. He quickly scanned the room with a judgmental eye. With Xephos out of the picture, someone had to take the lead. "Everyone in this house is a suspect until proven otherwise. Let's stick to what we know, alright? For all we know, the murderer could've taken out _both_ Xephos and Honeydew and hid their bodies around the manor."

"Gee, isn't that a pleasant thought." Came Rythian's sarcastic reply. "Two of the most experienced fighters we have both dead while the rest of us are stuck with the person who killed them." Lalna, not wanting to argue at the moment, simply hushed the mage before continuing.

"But as I said earlier, let us stick to what we know." The scientist turned to pace as he began to think out loud. "Ridgedog was stabbed and killed in the dining hall less than an hour ago with everyone present. This makes anyone a suspect. Xephos was found moments earlier stuffed in a closet, the cause of death apparently a heavy blow to the back of the head. Now, with what we factually know out of the way, every killer needs a motive. What do Xephos and Ridgedog have in common?"

"Well, um...uh...they both have brownish hair?" Nilesy inquired. This earned him an annoyed jab by Minty. "Ow!"

"No you idiot, they're both born leaders!" The barkeep snapped. Miss Minute certainly wasn't at her nicest in these types of situations.

"Well sorry miss, I can't think when I'm scared!"

"Correct!" Lalna stopped and pointed to Minty for a moment before he continued his thoughtful pacing. "This leads us to a possible motive. Power. It's quite possible that someone is taking out the competition to take Ridge's position as overseer, and all the perks that come with it. You'd get the manor, the servants, access to the finest foods and equipment. The works."

"Well, before we start pointing fingers..." Rythian paused a brief moment to shoot Sips a look. "...I say we locate the others and inform them on what has happened. Also, keep an eye out for Honeydew. I doubt he has anything to do with this, but so far all evidence points to him being the culprit."

"Ravs 'n' I'll stay here to keep miss Lomadia company." Nilesy spoke as Ravs bent down next to Lomadia again, whom was still holding Xephos close. "Once she's ready, we'll meet up wit' ya."

"The boys and I'll try and find Martyn's group." Minty spoke up now, Sips and Sjin giving a nod of agreement as she did. "If they're all still alive, we'll come back down to the main foyer. You three should investigate the basement and see if you can find out more about what happened down there."

"Sounds good to me." Rythian said as he let his arm around Zoey fall back to his side. Both Zoey and Lalna nodded in agreement.

"Stay safe, all of you." Lalna told them. The group then split into their teams again; Sips, Sjin, and Minty turning to head up to the third floor, Ravs and Nilesy staying behind to sit with Lomadia as she mourned, and Zoey, Rythian, and Lalna turning to go find the door to the basement. The three were silent for about a minute or two before Rythian spoke up.

"Hey, uh, Lalna." He began. Lalna turned to face him as he began to walk backwards.

"Yes?"

"Just letting you know, the way you handled everyone back there and sorted through information, um..." The mage seemed to mutter something to himself before he spoke louder so the scientist could hear. "...Good job."

Lalna couldn't help but smirk as he stopped. He leaned closer to the mage and cupped a hand around his ear.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I said you did a good job..."

"A _little _louder?"

"You did a good job."

"One more time, please."

"Don't push it man. I still don't like you."

"Alright, alright. Fine."

The whole exchange made Zoey giggle, and Lalna turned and continued down the corridor, chuckling a bit to himself as he did. Rythian was far too serious for his own good, and messing with him was always fun. Lalna quickly became serious again once he remembered the task at hand, and the three continued their search for the basement.


	5. Chapter 5: The Basement

The door to the basement gave a low creak as Rythian watched Lalna swing it open. A set of old wooden stairs immediately led down into pitch black darkness. The scientist seemed to wear a thoughtful look for a moment, apparently contemplating something in his head, before he looked at the others.

"Hopefully we'll find a lightswitch down there or something. For now, watch your step." With that, Lalna turned back around and began to descend into the pit of black. Rythian nodded and looked to Zoey.

"Stay close."

"Right."

Taking her hand, Rythian followed Lalna down the rickety stairs. He knew they reached the bottom when he felt cobblestone greet his feet instead of oak wood. It was impossible to tell how big the new room was without a light source, and the light from the hall above was barely enough to cover the first few steps. The mage heard Lalna's boots click against the stone a little ways in front of him before the sound came to an abrupt stop. A split second later, Rythian was nearly blinded by a sudden flash of light. Once his eyes adjusted, he put together that Lalna had found the lightswitch and had turned on the redstone lamps that were built into the ceiling.

Now having the ability to see clearly, Rythian began to examine the basement. The room was rectangular in shape, and against the wall were many crates, barrels, and racks of wine. Near the foot of the closest rack was a broken bottle, green shards cast randomly around a pool of red wine. At least, Rythian hoped it was mostly wine. Two corridors to their left and right lead further into the basement.

"So, where do we go now?" Zoey asked, looking between the two possible routes. "Shall we flip a coin?"

"I don't think we have one, Zoey." Rythian replied, scratching his head. "Maybe they loop around. I say we head right first."

"Does it really matter? We're going to have to search both eventually." Lalna replied with a slight roll of his eyes. Rythian gave him another look as the scientist turned to begin down the right corridor. "But whatever, right it is then."

The three continued down the right corridor with little to nothing happening. They occasionally found another room, but each just contained more storage crates or wine racks. By the time they reached the third room, Rythian sighed.

"Are we even sure anything's down here?" He asked. Zoey gave him a nod and began looking over some more crates as she spoke.

"Sure there is! We could find clues, murder weapons, bodies, Honeydew, Honeydew's body. All kinds of things!" Rythian thought she sounded a little to cheery at the mention of such things.

"Zoeya's right. We could find anything down here." Lalna added, stroking his chin and apparently thinking again. "Speaking of which, has anyone seen a weapon anywhere? I know Ridge instructed us to leave all deadly objects at home, but they'd be pretty useful in this situation."

"That didn't stop someone from finding a few of their own..." Rythian mumbled. Although there were most likely no swords, axes or bows lying around here, the murderer had managed to find a knife and some blunt object that worked just as well.

"Maybe we can find a _chainsaw _down here or something!" Zoey looked over at Lalna with another smile. "No baddies would mess with us then!"

"Let's not get carried away here." Rythian replied, beginning to look over a few crates as well. "Maybe we- Wait, is this one open?"

Both Lalna and Zoey turned to see the mage point to a particular crate sitting in the back corner of the room. Unlike most others in this room and the rooms before, cobwebs did not cling entirely to it. A few hung loosely, as if they had been torn from clinging to the wall or to a lower part of the crate. The top of the crate was also slightly ajar. The group shared a look before Lalna and Rythian crept closer to investigate. Although he had no idea if it was empty or not, Rythian felt a sense of dread as he approached the large wooden box. Why? He was not sure. Something just told him that something was wrong.

Lalna reached the crate first, and he slowly used one hand to begin to lift the lid up so they could peer inside. No sooner did his fingers touch the wood did the top of the crate go flying upward, as if something inside had forcefully knocked it off. The two men jumped back with a yell and absently clinged to each other as the crate began to bounce around violently, causing a few loose Styrofoam pellets to fall and hit the floor. Eventually, the crate toppled over, and the group thought they heard a muffled shout from within before it fell completely onto its side. Out came a wave of more Styrofoam pellets along with a new shape. The figure sat up and coughed, pounding his chest as he tried to spit out a mouthful of Styrofoam. After a moment, Rythian recognized him.

"Honeydew?" Zoey asked for the mage. She took a step forward and tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What were you doing in there?"

"Guys?" The dwarf looked up to see the three looking down at him. "What're you doing down here? And why are Rythian and Lalna hugging?"

Upon his question, Rythian realized he and Lalna were still clinging to each other out of fear. The embrace immediately parted as the two took a few decent-sized steps away from the other, refusing to look at each other. Zoey laughed.

"M-Miss Zoeya's question is still relevant, Honeydew. Why in the world were you in a box full of Styrofoam?" Lalna asked. Honeydew gave a hum of thought and began to stroke his beard, as if the answer was a mystery to him as well.

"...I'm not sure, actually." He replied after a moment. "All I remember is that the lights suddenly went out and someone grabbed me from behind. Next thing I knew, I was in a box! Then I fell out and now we're talking."

"So, someone knocked you out?" Rythian asked. Honeydew looked thoughtful again.

"Possibly. Whatever they used must've been heavy, too, since my head kinda hurts." He paused to rub the back of his head. The other three shared a look.

"Attempted murder?" Rythian asked. Lalna gave a nod.

"Almost certainly. The murderer tried to take out Honeydew too. Then I wonder why he didn't-"

"Of course us dwarves have hard skulls, so I'm surprised he managed to knock me out at all." Honeydew mused, not really listening to either of the two. He looked up at them suddenly. "Hey, have you seen Xeph anywhere? He was with me when the lights went off. I hope he's alright."

All three cringed slightly at his words. Of course _they_ would be the ones that have to break the news to the over-emotional dwarf. Rythian watched as Lalna put on a big fake smile and clasped his hands together.

"Well uh, you see, Honeydew, things happen, and people move on. N-not that there's anything wrong with moving on, but-"

"He's dead, isn't he?"

Honeydew's words caught all of them by surprise. Rythian looked down to see the dwarf with a rather calm expression, looking up at Lalna expecting the truth. The scientist stared at him for a moment before he sighed and gave a nod. Still, Honeydew didn't react the way they expected him too. He sat silently for a moment and closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stood to brush himself off.

"He was a good man." He said softly. Zoey walked over and tried to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, but Honeydew denied her by holding up his own hand. "It's alright."

"Well, um..." Rythian scratched his head, not sure how to transition out of this. "I guess this proves Honeydew isn't the murderer, right...?"

"I suppose." Lalna mused, tapping his chin again. "The closest team to the basement was Lomadia's. Could one of them have done it?"

"I dunno, they all seemed as surprised as us when we found Xeph..." Zoey added. She sighed. "This isn't fun anymore. This is confusing."

Their thought process was suddenly interrupted when a loud crash and another scream sounded from upstairs. Rythian was the first one to become alert and make it back into the corridor.

"That was from the third floor! C'mon!" He called back. The trio, including Honeydew now, raced back up the stairs to the first floor and dashed back into the foyer. From there, they climbed two more flights of stairs and reached the third floor in little to no time. After searching a few rooms with nothing inside, Rythian gripped the next door's handle an swung it open to find an odd sight.

It was apparently Minty who had screamed again, for it appeared she had fainted right into Sjin's arms. He and Sips were trying to rouse her among a total mess of a room. It must've been a second dining room of some sorts, for a long table draped with a white tablecloth was snapped in half, and much fine china and expensive silverware was scattered about, most of it broken. Among all this, two things caught the mage's eye in particular.

Where the table was split in half, the dead body of Toby lay there, eyes half open with a noose around his neck, and looking up, there was his companion Martyn, hanging in his own noose from the room's chandelier.


	6. Chapter 6: Speculation, Speculation

"OH COME ON!" Lalna shouted at the top of his lungs when he saw Martyn and Toby's bodies for the first time. The scientists' hands flew to his temples as he began to massage the sides of his forehead as he also began muttering to himself, desperately trying to calm himself down. He had begun a few breathing exercises when he heard Rythian stride over to Sips, Sjin, and Minty, the latter of the three still fainted in Sjin's arms.

"What happened?" He heard the mage ask. Sips shrugged with a confused look on his face as Sjin began to stammer out an explanation.

"W-Well, uh, we w-walked in and, and Minty turned on the lights, a-and then Toby fell and broke the table and-"

"That's enough." Lalna, who had managed to lower his rising stress levels, looked over to see Rythian place a hand on the bearded man's shoulder. "We get the gist of it." Sjin stared at him for a moment before he nodded and returned to trying to rouse his girlfriend from her state of shock. Lalna frowned. Ridge's murder was bad enough, but with the death count at four now, it was clear everyone was starting to lose it. The scientist sighed and looked at Toby's body in front of him.

"Who was with these two, again? That little Asian girl, right?" he asked. This caused most of the people in the totaled second dining room to look at him.

"Kim? Well, yeah, I think." Zoey gave a hum of thought as she tapped her chin with her robotic hand. "Hmm...oh! Maybe she did it! Am I right, am I right?"

"Kim?!" Sjin suddenly looked up with a mix of shock and confusion on his features. "Why, she wouldn't hurt a fly! I found her near my farm and she's been super sweet ever since. I even taught her some rules of the trade."

"Kim's been on your farm? You two? _Alone_?" Minty's voice caught everyone by surprise when the blonde looked up and gave Sjin the Evil Eye. The bearded farmer laughed nervously and pulled at his collar as his girlfriend stood up and brushed herself off, apparently having recovered from her previous scare.

"I-It's not what you think!"

"Oh really?"

"Yes! I swear on it!"

"Say, Sjin, didn't this Nano-Jim or whatever her name is pop up a little while after your scarecrow disappeared?" Sips asked suddenly. This caused everybody to look towards Sipsco's CEO's direction for a change.

"Scarecrow? What scarecrow?" Rythian and Zoey asked in unison, causing both of them to share a look before they returned their attention to Sjin. The farmer-slash-dirt trader pulled at his collar again and nervously glanced around. He gave a hard swallow before he spoke.

"Well, yes. I suppose you're right Sips..." He said. He looked over to Rythian and Zoey. "Y'see, I made this scarecrow out of this cool totem thing I found near my farm. A few days later, however, it had disappeared from its post in the wheat field! At first I thought someone had stolen it because my crops had been flattened, but rumors started to go around that some rude dude dressed in purple have been seen hanging near my orchards. During an expedition into the Nether for Glowstone, I found this tower thing-a-ma-jig where Kim was, ahem, 'trapped inside'." He used air quotes around his last words for whatever reason. He gave a curious glance around the room. "You all don't think that Kim is my scarecrow come to life and is going around killing people, do you?"

"It's highly possible with that kind of evidence." Lalna replied, arms crossed over his chest and with a casual shrug. He had been standing back to witness everything. Watching, waiting for the possible murderer to slip something he shouldn't have. Sjin looked as though he was about to make a rebuttal when Rythian spoke up.

"Before we go accusing anybody, let's think realistically." The mage spoke. "First off, totems are a very very _very _dangerous thing to use, and we can all agree that Sjin was an idiot for using one."

"Hey!"

"Second, I really doubt that a totem, as powerful and dangerous as it is in the wrong hands, can actually come to life and start killing people just because it was put up on a post. Third, who says that this scarecrow built the tower? Kim could've built it herself, or one of us did and just forgot it was there. Fourth, if we're going to say that Kim did all this, where's the proof?"

"Well for starters, Ridgedog was killed with a knife, and Kim was the only one who had access to the kitchen at the time of his death. Kitchens have knives, you know." Honeydew spoke up for the first time in ages. Lalna watched as Rythian nodded in acknowledgement.

"Okay, but this doesn't really work because...?"

"Oh oh oh! Kim was _in _the kitchen when Ridge died! She couldn't have left the kitchen, stabbed him, and then head back inside the kitchen in the span of a few seconds!" Zoey cried, glancing between each face in the room excitedly as she gave her explanation.

"Yes! Exactly." Rythian replied, pointing a finger towards his apprentice. The redhead gained another toothy smile on her face as the mage continued. "Whoever killed Ridgedog had to be near him when the lights went out. The closest was Xephos, but sadly that theory has already been debunked."

"Speaking of our former spaceman friend, it _is_ quite possible that Kim dealt with Martyn and Toby while nobody else was around, strung them up on the chandelier, and then snuck down to the basement to take out Xephos and Honeydew."

"A scrawny thing like Kim could do all that?" Minty asked, obvious skepticism on her voice. Lalna smirked as he clapped his hands together.

"Which brings me to another interesting point. Kim, if she _is _responsible for all this, could very easily have a partner in crime. While she took care of poor Martyn and Toby up here, someone went down to take out Xephos and Honeydew down there. This person would've also had to be sitting near Ridge's end of the table. Someone like, I don't know, _Sjin?"_

"Sjin you lying bastard!" Sips suddenly shouted, though his tone made it obvious he was still unsure about the whole thing. All eyes suddenly flicked in the farmer's direction. The poor man looked mortified.

"What? Me?! How did you come up with that wild idea?" He asked frantically.

"Yeah, Sjin was with Sips and I the entire time! Maybe you're the one behind all this and you're just framing everyone else! Ever think that would become obvious, blondie?" Minty snapped, taking a defensive step forward to protect her boyfriend.

"Lalna you lying bastard!" Sips shouted again, this time wheeling and pointing a finger in the scientist's direction. Lalna threw his arms up in the universal "hey man, be cool" gesture.

"Hey, take it easy! This is all just speculation here."

"Or maybe it was Honeydew, and he killed Xephos to make himself look innocent!" Zoey chimed in. Her tone wasn't angry or accusative at all. It was more like she was just absently voicing an idea.

"Honeydew you lying bastard!"

"Hey, Lil' Red Riding Hood!" Honeydew snapped back, causing Zoey to cringe and take a step away from the dwarf. "Make another comment like that and I swear I will personally-"

"EVERYONE QUIET!" Rythian's voice suddenly pierced the hum of the arguing crowd and caused everyone to go silent. Lalna's eyes widened in surprise as he watched Rythian take a stand for once; or at least, this was the first time he'd seen him do so. The mage shot a disapproving glare at everyone before his expression became less serious, and he sighed. Lalna thought he sounded unbelievably tired.

"Look, let's all just calm down and start thinking rationally again." He spoke. "Pointing fingers will get us nowhere. Yes, it's possible that Kim is the murderer. Yes, it's possible she has an ally. That doesn't mean we have to freak out and call this girl a witch or a demonic scarecrow or whatever. Maybe if we find her, she'll bring up something to prove her innocence."

"Rythian has a point! Don't go hating on Kim just yet, guys. There's still..." Zoey paused to do a quick headcount on her fingers. "...Ten of us? Ten of us! There's still ten of us here and only one-possibly-two murdering-psychos around! Odds are we'll figure this out."

"You know, I just realized something..." Honeydew began, stroking his beard as he thought aloud. "If Lalna, Rythian, Zoey and I could hear Minty scream from the basement, why couldn't Lom, Ravs and Nilesy on the first floor?"

The whole room froze as Lalna, Rythian and Zoey shared the same look of worry. Without waiting for any of the others, the three ran out of the room and headed for the stairs, praying to Notch that the three missing persons were still among the living.


	7. Chapter 7: Missing Persons

Rythian's feet quickly found the marble tiles of the first floor shortly after leaving the room with Martyn and Toby's mangled bodies. It felt as though it had only taken him mere seconds to race back to the stairs and fly down the many steps to get there. Hearing Zoey, Lalna, and the others a ways behind him, he turned and dashed in the direction they had last left Lomadia's group in one of the first floor hallways. He turned a corner and slid to a stop when he reached his destination, only to have Zoey and Lalna crash into him from behind. The three then tumbled forward into a dog pile. Rythian, trapped on the bottom, gave a groan of discontent as he felt a weight lift off his back.

"Sorry Rythian." Zoey laughed nervously behind him, obviously embarrassed. The mage rolled over to see that the redhead had extended a hand to help him up. Meanwhile, Lalna was busy muttering something to himself as he fixed his goggles upon his head, the eyewear having become askew in the fall. Rythian smiled slightly under his mask as he took his apprentice's hand and stood up just in time for Honeydew and the others to catch up to them.

"Why'd we stop here?" Minty asked, beginning to study the narrow hallway. Rythian turned to see that Lomadia's group was no longer where they had last seen them. Nothing was there except for a few deep splotches of blood staining the light red carpet that draped over the marble. The mage suddenly realized that not only were Lomadia, Ravs and Nilesy missing, but Xephos' body was gone as well.

"This is where we found Xeph's body with Lomadia and her group, remember?" Rythian heard Lalna speak off to the side. He turned back around to face the group just in time to see Minty give a thoughtful nod in response. Sjin stepped forward and raised a brow.

"Hey, speaking of that, where _is _Xeph's body? Did Lomadia's group drag him off somewhere?"

"Why, to bury him? We're locked inside here!" Sips shouted back in return. Sjin just looked at his friend and shrugged.

"Well, it's a possibility."

"Maybe the murderer came after Lom, Ravs, and Nilesy left and dragged Xephos off somewhere?" Zoey piped in. Rythian shrugged as he saw Lalna take a step forward, no doubt to take hold of the crowd again.

"Alright, that's enough everyone. We still have three people unaccounted for. We need to keep an eye out. Now, Minty, you take Sips and Sjin and-"

"Hey, hold up." Honeydew interjected. "You're seriously suggesting we split up again after all that's happened? I already almost died tonight, and I don't want be put into a situation where that could happen again, thank you very much!"

"He has a point, Lalna." Rythian added casually. The scientist glanced at him before he sighed.

"Fine. We'll stick together, even if that means we cover less ground. We'll check the first floor and move up towards the upper levels until we find them. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." The group heard Zoey and Minty respond on their behalf. Lalna gave a curt nod and turned to lead the other six further down the hall. The group walked quietly for the next few minutes, the eerie silence occasionally broken by the calling of one of the missing party guests' names. They checked every unlocked door and gave a thorough assessment of the room behind each, finding nothing except the occasional speck of dust. Ridgedog's cleaning services certainly did an exceptional job of keeping such a large place in order. The series of hallways in that particular wing brought about nothing, so the group eventually migrated its way back to the main foyer.

"Where to now?" Sjin asked. Rythian witnessed the other man's eyes thoughtfully shift upward to the rotund, decorated ceiling above them. He spared a glance up to the painted swirl of clouds overhead before returning his gaze forward. Lalna halted to think for a moment, and the others followed in suit, waiting for him to give a command.

"The east wing is out of the question... should we try the basement again, or move on to the west wing?" He mused.

"You know, the one place we haven't checked out yet is the kitchen. Maybe we'll find the three in there! Or better yet, weapons! I'm still hoping we find a chainsaw around here somewhere." Zoey added again, though she kept that last part mostly to herself. Rythian noticed his apprentice's hands rub together excitedly, no doubt another wild fantasy racing through her mind.

"That's an excellent idea! At least we can grab a knife or a frying pan or something in case you-know-who decides to strike." Minty commented. Lalna nodded in agreement before the group turned and faced the door that led to the main dining hall. They shuffled through and saw that not much had changed since when they had last been here, when all this chaos first started. The fountain of wine was still spewing off to their right, the pinkish-red liquid bubbling as it cycled through the machinery. The long wooden table was still in order, the tablecloth ironed so no wrinkles were present with all the plates perfectly in line and ready for use. There was indeed one difference, however. Ridgedog was absent from his dining chair.

"Ridge is gone too?" Rythian asked. He brought up a hand to scratch his head. "Okay, this is getting weird."

"As if it wasn't already a strange enough situation before?" Honeydew remarked, his arms folding over his chest, partially hidden by his long mess of a beard. There was a brief debate that once again got them nowhere before the party returned their attention to the task at hand and entered the kitchen, carefully stepping over the mess Kim had made when she dropped most of tonight's dinner.

The kitchen was rectangular in shape, and the floor was now an alternating pattern of black and white tiles. A row of iron stoves sat along the wall to their right, a few pots, pans, and woks still messily arranged atop the inactive cookers. In the middle and along the left wall of the room were steel tabletops for preparing food, with the occasional sink built into part of the counter. Along the back wall was the large fridge, the meat locker, a few pantries and a door that looked to lead to the broom closet. Also near the back wall was a door that appeared to lead out into the west wing. The compact jumble of bodies dispersed to explore before they eventually condensed near the back of the room again. A few had already picked up an empty wok or a rolling pin for protection. Rythian watched as Sips jokingly jabbed Sjin in the side and jerked a thumb towards the meat locker.

"Hey, five diamonds says there's a body hangin' in there." He whispered. The dirt trader was quickly shushed by Minty and the others that had heard him, earing Sipsco's CEO a few harsh glares. Their collective attention was suddenly recaptured when a thump was heard from inside the broom closet. Instantly, those gathered began to look between each other, silently willing others to be the first to take a look inside. Eventually, Honeydew gave a loud sigh and stepped forward, cracking his knuckles and rolling up the sleeves of his tuxedo.

"Fine then, you bunch of babbies, I'll do it." He muttered. Rythian watched as the dwarf's hand tightened firmly around the door's handle, and Honeydew seemed to pause for a brief moment before he swung the wooden door open. Before he could report what he had found, a new voice pierced the air. Well, a battle cry to be more precise. Honeydew was suddenly knocked back when a foot collided with his jaw. The remainder of the party witnessed a little figure emerge from the shadows with a broom in hand. Wielding the object like a martial arts staff, the figure spun the object in their hand before taking another swing at Honeydew's head before jabbing the broomless end into hiss gut. The dwarf fell onto his back and groaned as the little figure pointed the broom down towards his face.

"Kim?" Sjin asked, recognizing the girl once the fast movement of battle ceased. "Kim, calm down! It's just us!"

Kim glanced upwards and scanned the crowd, and her stern expression softened into a sheepish smile.

"Oops, hi guys." She stepped away from Honeydew and tucked the broom behind her back. The dwarf groaned and picked himself up before merging with the group again. Rythian heard Sips snicker behind him.

"What were you doing hiding in the broom closet?" The mage asked the girl in front of him. Kim's eyes darted in his direction.

"What do you think? I'm hiding, that's what! Who wants to be running around here when there's a murderer loose? Joke's on you guys, because I haven't seen any trouble since I got separated from Martyn and Toby."

"Separated? How?" Lalna jumped in. Kim looked his way and became slightly embarrassed again.

"Well, we stopped on the third floor and began to check out the rooms. While I was checking one, Toby and Martyn were checking two others just a door or two down. I finished up and went to find them, but they just disappeared or something! I eventually got too scared to continue on my own, so I ran down here to hide. It was the only place I could think of at the time." She explained. The group shared a few looks before Lalna called them into a huddle, Kim of course being excluded.

"So, do we believe her for now or not?" Lalna asked in a whisper. A few looked like they were about to answer, but Honeydew beat them to it.

"Of course we don't believe her! She's the prime suspect, and you just saw what she's capable of! She beat _me_ up for Notch's sake!"

"Oh, you're just upset because you got owned by a girl with not even half your muscle." Minty remarked with a smug smile. Rythian heard Zoey giggle beside him as Honeydew shot the blonde a glare.

"Like I said before, Kim wouldn't hurt a fly! I say she's innocent." Sjin spoke again.

"Then explain who could've strung up Martyn and Toby by their necks on the chandelier then." Lalna questioned in return. Sjin looked as though he was about to give some sort of reply before Kim suddenly broke into the group's tight circle.

"Martyn and Toby are dead?!" She asked, eyes wide. "What?! Did anyone else die?"

"Xephos, sadly. Possibly the entirety of Lomadia's team as well." Rythian told her. Kim's eyes widened again before she whined and held her face in her hands, having dropped the broom a few seconds ago out of shock.

"Oh Notch we're so screwed, so royally screwed I don't want to diiieee...!"

Kim continued to fret about their situation as Sjin stepped over and began to calm her down. Rythian and Lalna shared a look.

"Looks like a genuine reaction to me." The mage shrugged. He saw Lalna frown and sigh again before he looked in Kim's direction.

"Alright Kim, calm down. We believe you for now. Just stick with the crowd from now on, alright? We still need to find Lomadia's group." The scientist told her. Kim, still frowning, gave a quick nod as the party gave one last look around the kitchen to grab a few cooking utensils for makeshift weapons. Rythian pulled a knife used for cutting vegetables from a drawer and tucked it into his belt for easy access. He saw that Zoey had managed to grab a frying pan and Lalna snatched up a cleaver. The way the scientist held it suggested he was used to using such a tool.

Armed and ready, the group continued through the kitchen's side door and into the west wing. They fell into the routine they had used while exploring the east wing; search each room and occasionally call out a name. Rythian trudged behind Lalna, Zoey at his side and the others behind him. The mage's thoughts drifted to those who had fallen this night, and he wondered if their passings had been quick and relatively painless. After tonight, things would be different. Some faces he would never see again. Not that he socialized much anyway, but that sudden realization was enough to make him pause and think. Whoever did this would certainly pay for their crimes.

The mage's thoughts were broken when Lalna suddenly stopped in front of him. He looked past the scientist to see a large bloodstain in the middle of the floor, one they had not seen yet. Beyond the red splotch was a trail of more of the red liquid. The droplets formed a line that curved into the next hall to their left and continued out of sight. Lalna suddenly started forward again, entering a run as he began to follow the trail laid out for them. Rythian grabbed a confused Zoey by her hand - her real hand - and took off after the scientist, hearing the others begin to follow as well. The trail led them through a series of twists and turns before it stopped at the foot of another door. Lalna waited for the others to catch up before he swung the door open and rushed inside. Rythian let go of Zoey and pulled his cutting knife before following.

The group seemed to have stumble upon a parlor of sorts. Up against the back wall was a grand cobblestone fireplace, and the head of a bear hung above the structure, its face forever twisted into a threatening snarl. The flames were currently nonexistent, but two logs sat in the fireplace, ready to be lit whenever they were needed. Two large, arched windows were up against the right wall, red drapes pulled back to frame the rain that continued to beat steadily against the glass panes. Like the ones up on the fourth floor, these appeared to be welded shut, and even if you smashed through the glass, your path was blocked by a clump of rose bushes. At the center of the room sat a tall padded chair that faced the fireplace. It was a royal blue, and a cursive "R" was carved into a golden ornament near the upper back side of the chair. A matching royal blue footstool sat off to the side near the base of the luxurious seat. The apparently used to be one of Ridgedog's favorite places in the manor.

After quickly scanning the room, Rythian's eyes fell upon the blood trail again and followed it over to the back left corner of the room. Huddled in the corner was Nilesy. His glasses sat crooked upon the bridge of his nose, and his greyish-blue eyes were wide as he stared off somewhere to his left. Knees held to his chest, the poor man rocked back and forth with the flat side of another cutting knife pressed up against his cheek. The stainless steel utensil, along with part of his sleeve, was soaked in blood.

"Nilesy?" Rythian cautiously took a step forward the shaken man. It was obvious that Nilesy was not in the best mental state at the moment. The Scotsman's eyes darted in his direction before they widened even more, and on reflex the man raised the knife to defend himself. His crazed expression softened when he recognized familiar faces, and he slipped back into his huddled position, his back pressed up into the corner as far as he could shrink away.

"You're not him. That's good. You're not all here. That's bad." Nilesy muttered quickly, and Rythian noticed his eye twitch. The group shared a few concerned looks as Zoey also took a few steps forward.

"Nilesy, can you tell us what happened? Who's 'him'?" The redhead asked. Nilesy's eyes quickly darted in the party's direction again before they returned to staring off to his left again. The Scotsman continuously rocked back and forth like a metronome.

"First we ran. No, we walked. We walked and then we ran. We left. Left Xephos. Left to find you lot. That's when _he _showed up. Grabbed Lomadia and snapped her neck, right in two. Aye, gruesome sound it was. Ravs fell right afterwards, and then he came for me! Oh, but I had the knife. Grabbed it when we passed through the kitchen, that I did. Stabbed him, right in the side. Blood went everywhere and splashed onto the floor. Not a pretty sight, I tell ye. He ran. I ran. Now I'm a-waitin'. Waitin' for him to show up again. To try and take me with 'im again! But I won't let 'im. Oh, not today." He paused to give a maniacal chuckle. "Y'see, I have the knife. He does _not_ have the knife. I-I'm safe as long as I have the knife..."

"What did he look like, Nilesy? ...Nilesy?" Zoey asked again, but it was no use. Nilesy continued to mutter to himself, ignoring the redhead, and his Scottish accent eventually became too thick to understand as he spoke quickly and quietly. The party shared a few more concerned glances.

"Well, I guess that means Kim is innocent. Nilesy, as super crazy as he is right now, said a man attacked him and got the others." Rythian spoke.

"But that's impossible! None of us guys could have done it! We all have eye-witnesses to back us up." Sips yelled again, confused. He pointed over to Nilesy. "And Mr. Crazy-Bonkers over there said that they passed through the kitchen. Would've Kim have heard?"

"They could've easily passed through before I got there to hide, y'know." Kim replied, casually resting her rolling pin up against her shoulder. The mage heard Lalna give a loud hum of thought off to his left. It was enough to catch most people's attention.

"If what Nilesy says is true, there can be only one other option..." He mused. It took a moment for the others to understand. Rythian looked in the scientist's direction when he realized what Lalna had implied.

"There's someone else in the manor..."


End file.
